It IS possible to decode IKEA instructions, claim scientists: Spatial skills like reading maps and 3D design can be learned

Puzzle solved? Spatial skills - like reading maps and assembling Ikea chests of drawers - are a skill that can be learned

Spatial skills - like reading maps and assembling Ikea chests of drawers - are a skill that can be learned.

Previously, it had been believed that some spatial skills couldn't be trained.

The news may not be welcome to those who shirk such chores saying they 'just can't' read instructions or maps.

The research - based on a review 0f 217 studies into spatial skills - proved that people of all ages can improve spatial skills by practice.

Playing 3D video games also seems to help people learn.

David Uttal and fellow researchers at Northwestern University, reviewed 217 research studies on educational interventions to improve spatial thinking.

‘There are limitations involved with looking at individual studies one by one. What we found when we brought together this large body of literature on training effects and analyzed it was a very powerful message, said Newcombe.

‘People of all ages can improve at all types of spatial skills through training, period.’

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‘Our findings have significant real world implications by showing that training can have an impact on a technological workforce.

'With the right training more high school students will be able to consider engineering and other scientific fields as a career option,’ said Newcombe.

One example of the type of training that can increase spatial abilities is having physics students use three-dimensional representations.

The news may not be welcome to those who shirk such chores saying they 'just can't' read instructions or maps

Video game playing also increases spatial skills.

‘Perhaps the most important finding from this meta-analysis is that several different forms of training can be highly successful,’ the authors say.

‘Our hope is that our findings on how to train spatial skills will ultimately lead to highly effective ways to improve STEM performance,’ said Uttal, the lead author on the study.

The study looked at gender and age differences in relation to spatial thinking and found that in males and females, adults and children, even a small amount of training can improve spatial reasoning and have long-lasting impact